


A song in the night

by Sealpotato



Series: Amasai Oneshots [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, One Shot, Rantaro sings, Saimami, amasai, rantaro misses his sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:29:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27583415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sealpotato/pseuds/Sealpotato
Summary: Rantaro’s imprisonment in the academy was driving him to the point of a breakdown. He needed to reconnect with his sisters again somehow. His method to do so didn’t go unnoticed by everyone, though.
Relationships: Amami Rantaro/Saihara Shuichi
Series: Amasai Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016283
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	A song in the night

Rantaro was never one to brag about his talents, but he did consider himself to be a pretty decent singer. This wasn’t all that surprising, considering he got a lot of practice over the years by singing for his sisters. He’d sing lullabies for the youngest ones to help them sleep, while the older ones could appreciate his covers of popular hit songs from the radio. It wasn’t exactly his taste in music most of the time, but that didn’t matter. All he cared about was that he was able to provide his sisters with entertainment or comfort when they needed it. The joyful sparkle in their eyes, their laughter when he’d “accidentally” miss a note, their peaceful breathing as they slowly drifted off to sleep to his lullabies… It was those little moments that made Rantaro realize what it truly felt like to be happy. 

But those were also the reason why Rantaro didn’t sing anymore.

Those precious memories, now so far out of reach, made him feel like his throat would tie in a knot and suffocate him as soon as he’d attempt it. Singing by himself would just be a painful reminder that his sisters were gone now, maybe even for good, although he refused to accept those sorts of thoughts. He was going to find them, after all. At least that was the plan, until he’d somehow gotten himself into an even bigger mess. A cruel killing game, courtesy of Monokuma.

It was on the third night in the academy that Rantaro found himself alone in the courtyard. It was unsettlingly quiet outside, almost making it seem as if he was the last person on earth left alive, if he didn’t know better. But anything was better than the confines of his tiny dorm room. He couldn’t manage to fall asleep while the worries and questions in his mind were multiplying with every passing minute in this hell. He needed space to breathe, to sort out the mess that his thoughts had become.

Rantaro let himself fall down onto the grass, folding his arms under his head and looking up to the sky. It was a magnificent sight to see. The giant dome that was looming above the campus was barely even noticeable compared to the endless darkness above it, a darkness filled with sparkling stars that were much more bright and numerous than he was used to, even compared to the breathtaking night skies of some of the most remote places he’d been to.

Rantaro was struck by a thought as he was taking in the view.

His sisters could be looking at the same sky at this very moment, if they were still out there. This was hardly something worthy of celebration, yet the mere thought of it gave Rantaro a glimmer of hope again for the first time since he’d arrived at this place. It was quite literally the only thing left that connected them all together at this very moment. And while that wasn’t much to go by, it was good enough for now. It had to be, for the sake of his sanity.

And that’s when he started humming.

It was quiet at first, barely noticeable, but soon enough it transitioned to a full-blown song which had the sound of Rantaro’s voice echoing throughout the courtyard. For the first time in years, he wasn’t holding himself back. He desperately wanted his voice to reach his sisters, somehow. He knew it wasn’t realistic to hope for something like that, but those glimmering stars reminded him of the way his sisters used to look at him. They encouraged him to finally let it all out.

_Oh I left a light on  
With my heart in the right place still I did the wrong  
And Lord send the lifeboats  
With my sister on my back I'll walk into the storm  
Pray that a better man than me brings her home_

_Let love be left uncharted  
Leave your navigator home  
And sail your ship through breathless waters  
Love lies at the edge of hope  
At the edge of hope  
  
_

  
A few brief moments passed, and then the song was over, and Rantaro fell silent. He was out of breath. Singing at the top of his lungs after such a long time didn’t come effortlessly to him.

Having finished the song, the reality of the situation quickly came flooding back to him again. And it dawned on him how _tired_ he was, how heavy his limbs felt, how utterly drained of energy he was, even though he’d been telling himself he would never give up, for the sake of his sisters, but it was just so difficult right now, and he caught himself wishing so badly that he could escape, no matter what it would take, even at the cost of…..

Tears welled up in his eyes before he could finish that line of thinking. No. No way he would ever allow himself to do that. But what the _hell_ was he supposed to do?

Defeated, he finally let himself cry the tears out that he’d been holding back. Not that it mattered. No one was around to see it. At least, that’s what he thought. Through his sobs he didn’t hear the footsteps that approached him.

“Rantaro?”

A voice spoke his name. Quietly, yet loaded with genuine concern.

Caught off guard, Rantaro immediately sat up straight and rubbed the tears out of his eyes to clear his blurry vision. He looked up to the figure standing next to him, whom he quickly recognized to be Shuichi. There was no mistaking that hat of his, he was always wearing it.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” he spoke again.

Rantaro felt dazed and a loss for words. How was he supposed to casually shrug off the fact that he was crying on the floor outside in the middle of the night? The ultimate detective surely wouldn’t just let that slide.

“I…” The dark-haired boy hesitated for a moment. “I heard you sing. It, ah, it was beautiful. You’re an amazing singer.”

Rantaro felt flustered. If he’d known someone else was listening, he never would have opened his mouth at all.

“So you heard me, huh. Guess you couldn’t sleep either, then?” Rantaro replied, voice raspy. He tried to force a smile but it turned out more like a wry grin.

“Y-yeah that’s right. I was out for a stroll. I was going to leave you alone but…but then I heard you, uhm, I heard you cry so….”

“Should’ve just left me alone in any case. No need to burden yourself with me. You got plenty to worry about too.”

Shuichi seemed taken aback for a moment, staying silent, as if he was thinking of how to respond to that.

“Look, I appreciate your concern,” Rantaro continued when the silence started lasting just slightly too long for comfort, “but I’ll be fine. So just go to sleep, yeah?”  
Rantaro tried his best to sound like his usual easygoing self, though he doubted that it was very convincing.

“No...I can’t just leave you here like this, Rantaro. I-if it’s okay…can I sit down?”

Rantaro sighed. Shuichi had already seen him at his lowest point, he supposed there was no point in refusing now. Besides, maybe some company was exactly what he needed right now, to stop his thoughts from taking over again. He nodded towards Shuichi, and soon enough they were sitting next to each other in the grass.

Rantaro’s eyelids still felt heavy, but at least the lump in his throat had faded a bit. He wasn’t in the mood for talking, but Shuichi seemed to have more to say still.

“I-it’s okay to cry, you know?’ he brought up, hesitantly, carefully inspecting Rantaro’s reaction to his words, as if to make sure he wasn’t saying anything to offend him. Rantaro was listening without interrupting, so Shuichi continued.  
“You don’t _have_ to be strong all the time. We’re all stuck in this situation. So I get it. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t cried at all. ”

These words really hit Rantaro. It was true he’d been putting up a smile for everyone’s sake. Not just for everyone else though, it was for his own sake most of all. His laid-back attitude couldn’t be more different from how he was actually feeling deep down inside, but he wasn’t ready to have his story out in the open with these strangers. He was ashamed enough of himself already, he didn’t need more witnesses to that. Shuichi had been kind to him since the start, but even so, Shuichi didn’t _get_ it, because he didn’t have twelve lost sisters to worry about.  
Rantaro thought to himself that if he knew his sisters were all home safe and sound, he would be able to die here with no regrets, even if that wasn’t really what he wanted, even if there was still so much left of the world he wanted to see…but that wasn’t what mattered the most. His sisters _weren’t_ home safe, so right now, he absolutely could not allow himself to die. And yet, the threat was there, constantly looming behind him, following his every step, every second of every day. Rantaro’s breathing got shaky again and tears came back rolling. He turned his head away from Shuichi, hoping he wouldn’t notice it in the dark.

“A-anyway,” Shuichi continued, seemingly unaware of Rantaro’s situation, or simply choosing not to emphasize on it, “I know that’s depressing to talk about…we can talk about something else, if you want. Maybe…do you want to talk about singing? I didn’t know you liked to do that.”

Rantaro winced. Right, Shuichi heard that part too. 

“Oh, yeah it’s nothin’ special, really.” He replied, struggling to keep his voice stable, “I used to do it a lot. Just for my sisters though. It’s something that always managed to cheer me up, no matter how bad of a day I was having.”

“Ah, you have sisters? That must be nice. I can imagine you must miss them a lot. I…I miss my uncle, too.”

“I understand. We probably all have families we want to go back to. And yeah, I do miss my sisters, but the situation’s pretty complicated, even without this whole…killing game situation. I haven’t been able to sing for them in a while. But I’d really rather not talk about it.” Rantaro folded his arms around his knees and rested his head onto them.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his back, slowly circling as a comforting gesture.

“That’s okay…” he heard Shuichi say. “I, ah, I know it’s not the same thing in any way, but…if you ever feel like singing for someone while your sisters aren’t around…I’d love to listen, Rantaro. I want to help you get through this, in any way I can, until we all find a way to escape together. S-so…feel free to ask, okay?” 

Rantaro looked up from his huddled position, and for the first time that night, he looked straight into Shuichi’s eyes. He could tell that Shuichi was serious about this, and for the first time, he felt like he could truly trust someone in this place.

Maybe this boy was the one who could finally give him the courage to sing again.

**Author's Note:**

> The song mentioned is “The Navigator” by Vian Izak! 
> 
> 2 am is the best time to write some amasai


End file.
